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Full catalog/VNP14
VNP14·v002·dataset

Where active fires are burning (VIIRS, Suomi-NPP, 750 m)

VIIRS/NPP Thermal Anomalies/Fire 6-Min L2 Swath 750m V002
land NASA LPCLOUD Level 2 active netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. Detection of active fires and other hot spots from individual satellite passes, with a fire mask as the main layer plus how warm surfaces look to the sensor (brightness temperature) in several infrared channels.

How it's made. Produced from the VIIRS instrument on the Suomi-NPP satellite at 750-meter resolution, with each file covering about 6 minutes of data, and designed to continue the older MODIS fire record.

How & where you'd use it. Used to spot fires and volcanoes and gauge their intensity, and as the starting point for higher-level fire products.

What's measured

LAND SURFACE › SURFACE THERMAL PROPERTIES › LAND SURFACE TEMPERATUREBIOSPHERE › ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS › FIRE ECOLOGY › FIRE OCCURRENCELAND SURFACE › SURFACE THERMAL PROPERTIES › LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE › THERMAL ANOMALIES

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2012-01-17 → ongoing
  • Measured bySuomi-NPP (VIIRS)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Track deforestation, fire scars and land-cover change
  • Monitor crop and vegetation health (NDVI/EVI)
  • Map how built-up vs. green an area is over time
Official description

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Thermal Anomalies (VNP14) Version 2 product is produced in 6-minute temporal satellite increments (swaths) at 750 meter resolution from the VIIRS sensor located on the NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite. This product is designed after the Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Thermal Anomalies and Fire data products to promote the continuity of the Earth Observation System (EOS) mission. This data product can enable users to understand the location and intensity of fire events as well as identifying thermal anomalies. The VNP14 product includes 31 science dataset variables to analyze key factors in fire detection, including atmospheric conditions (e.g., atmospheric reflectance, solar zenith angle, brightness temperature) and fuel type for the event. The fire mask layer in the VNP14 product is the primary layer and can be used to identify fires and other thermal anomalies such as volcanoes. In addition to the fire mask, brightness temperature is provided for VIIRS channels M5, M7, M11, M13, M15, and M16. Each swath of data is approximately 3,060 kilometers along track (long) and 3,060 kilometers across track (wide). The VNP14 product is also used to generate higher-level fire data products. Use of the [VNP03MODLL](https://doi.org/10.5067/viirs/vnp03modll.002) data product is required to apply accurate geolocation information to the VNP14 Science Datasets (SDS) / Variables. Known Issues * For complete information about known issues please refer to the [MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website](https://landweb.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/knownissue?sensor=VIIRS).

Get the data

vnp14_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="VNP14",
    version="002",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from LPCLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.